Taxi crashes into Joburg building, causing partial collapse

Johannesburg - A taxi that hit three pillars supporting the overhead structure causing parts of a building in Orange Grove, Johannesburg, to collapse was allegedly speeding.

The incident happened on Louis Botha and 2nd Avenue around 7am this morning. Two taxis and one small vehicle, which had been parked under the overhead, were damaged when parts of the structure fell on them.

Qhubeka Ncube, the driver of the second taxi, said he had been driving ahead of the taxi that hit the building when its driver lost control of it.

"He (the driver of the other taxi) was directly behind me driving at high speed and then he realised that traffic had come to a standstill. That 's when he veered to the left side of the road to avoid rear-ending my vehicle that he rammed onto the pillars. It was very scary at least none of my 13 passengers were injured," said Ncube.

Police on the scene could not confirm how many passengers were injured in the other taxi but it is reported that 16 people were rushed to the hospital. The incident inconvenienced a lot of motorist who had to divert onto other streets while Louis Botha remained closed.